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Retirement Savings Gone After Investment in Fraudulent Company Resembling SDIRA Custodian

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By Stephanie Mojica

A Wisconsin woman lost her entire retirement savings by investing with a now-deceased friend’s business, My IRA, LLC, according to the Milwaukee NBC television affiliate TMJ4. It seems the company attempted to resemble an SDIRA – a Self-Directed Individual Retirement Account custodian.

My IRA, LLC was started by a tax preparer and purported investor, Michael Cuccia, who suddenly died in November 2020, according to TMJ4. When people who had invested in his company sought the return of their assets, they were stunned to learn that most of them were nowhere to be found, according to TMJ4.

Attorney Anne Cohen stated that her client Diane Conklin had a 401(K) account, but needed to figure out her best options when she broke her back in 2012.

Image from Pixabay

“She had learned that she could no longer work and wanted to make sure that the funds she had in her 401(K) were in a secure account,” Cohen told TMJ4.“Because she quickly was learning that was all of the wealth she was going to amass in her lifetime due to her disability.”

According to Cohen, Conklin knew Cuccia professionally and also considered him a friend. Cuccia told Conklin to take her money out of her 401(K) account and invest in his My IRA, LLC company, according to a lawsuit Conklin filed against Cuccia’s estate.

Cuccia claimed Conklin had no risk of losing her assets and she was guaranteed a 5% return on investment each year, according to Cohen.

“…after years and years of friendship and going to him for tax advice, she trusted his advice,” Cohen told TMJ4.

After Cuccia’s sudden death, Conklin and others could not reclaim their assets, according to Cohen.

People had invested anywhere from $5,000 to $200,000 with Cuccia’s company, according to Cohen. The total was $1 million, but Cuccia only had about $200,000 in assets, according to Cohen.

Image from Pixabay

Anyone considering making an investment should be automatically suspicious if they are told there is no risk involved, according to Robin Jacobs from the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions Enforcement Bureau.

“When you invest your money in something, it means you’re going to take a risk in exchange for getting a return,” Jacobs explained during her interview with TMJ4.“Of course there’s no guarantee.”

Investors should also steer clear if one or more of the following warning signs are present:

  • A vague or confusing business model.
  • Time limits on when you can invest.
  • High-pressure sales tactics.
  • A lack of disclosure documents.
  • No audited financial records.

Would-be investors should also research whether the person they’re talking to has the proper training and licensure.

Image from Pixabay

In Wisconsin, that can be cleared up with a phone call to the Department of Financial Institutions Enforcement Bureau.

“…we can tell (you) whether that person is registered either as an investment advisor or a broker-dealer and if they’re not registered…I would be very suspicious of that person,” Jacobs said during her interview with TMJ4.

Some broker-dealers and investment advisors must register with FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) or the SEC (the Securities and Exchange Commission), while others do not. It depends on whether the professional does business in one or multiple states.

The regulation bodies for other states include:

  • California Department of Business Oversight
  • Texas State Securities Board
  • Idaho Department of Finance
  • New York State Attorney General
  • Arizona Corporation Commission
  • Nevada Secretary of State
  • Florida Office of Financial Regulation

Any inquiry to your local business licensing or permits office or a quick Google search should point you in the right direction.

Back to Cuccia’s purported victims, the future is unknown.

Conklin and other people who claim they were swindled by Cuccia are waiting to see if the courts will award them any of what’s left from his estate, according to TMJ4.

Attorneys representing Cuccia’s estate declined to be interviewed by TMJ4.

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Empowering Your Investors to Retire Sooner

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By Dan Kryzanowski

Tips on Sponsorship and Syndicates

My Journey to Financial Independence

Who do I (or you) have more in common with, Joe Biden or Mitt Romney? Putting politics way aside on my response, my answer is both. Speaking with my business hat on, I morphed from Joe to Mitt.

The Early Days

While like Joe, I did grow up on the “mean streets” of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Actually, the streets were not so mean and life was wonderful as a child in the 20th century. I was also very fortunate that my parents had secure jobs – high school principal and social worker – with pensions in perpetuity! scranton-364185_1280 Grit was (and is still) a valued trait in northeast Pennsylvania (aka NEPA), with NEPA known as coal mining community with strong cultural ties and traditions. There was a solid deference to top-down organizations and assumption of middle-class comfort. In terms of real estate and investments, the primary residence was the only “alternative” asset for the supermajority. This held true for the single-earner family or high-flying businessman that made six-figures in the early 80s. That said, the immigrant sense of adventure shined with the true immigrants (i.e. first-generation Americans) born in the early 1900s. My great aunts and uncles strongly valued family gatherings, so purchased land and built houses outside of town. My entrepreneurial spirit flickered early, though primarily in the “non-profit” sense, to provide opportunities for my peers. I co-founded and stood up programming for a youth leadership group under Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY), and served as matchmaker years before LinkedIn and Facebook. Overall, life was wonderful as a child and teenager in NEPA in the 20th century.

Early Career

Sometimes it pays to be lucky, being in the right place at the right time with the right people. I spent college and my twenties studying and living in three countries (traveling to another 20), ten US states, and locations such as Martha’s Vineyard in the summer of 1998 to Austin, TX prior to the current (infinite?) population boom. I also picked up degrees at Wharton and Thunderbird and benefited immensely from a decade at Merrill Lynch and GE Capital. financial-2860753_1280 Life was good and I quietly built up a sizable 401(k) and healthy Roth IRA. Stocks trended upward, public REITs paid double-digit dividends and I could receive a whopping 6% on a risk-free Certificate of Deposit (CD)! I felt very “diversified” and sophisticated within the comforts on the Fidelity online portal.

Turning Point

While 9/11 was an obvious shock (I worked at 4 World Financial Center) and wake up call to potential horrors, day-to-day living (and investing) in the mid-2000s was quite comfortable. That, of course, all changed in September 2008. The curtain fell on the Wizard of Oz, and what was behind the curtain was not pretty (i.e. “trusted” institutions). Backing up a little bit, it should be noted that I rarely go against my gut feeling, and when I do it tends to put my entrepreneurial and investing endeavors on hold. Instead of remaining in Austin in mid-2008 to be at the forefront of the first true “organic” tequila, we ended up back in the northeast, paying $2,000 monthly for a condo with a view of a wall in Stamford, CT (when I literally could have bought a house in east Austin for $40K). Fast forward three winters, the reintroduction of state income tax, and dozens of pints for friends laid offer during the financial crisis – it was time to return “home” to Texas.

Keeping It Weird

austin-247_1280 Austin, and Texas in general, has a very educated investor base, with folks forming all types of syndicates to invest in everything from conservative multifamily preferred loans to restaurants that cater to dogs and comedy tours (“Ha”, said my CPA, when we wrote off this investment). I immediately cannonballed into both ends of the pool, opening a Self-Directed IRA (SDIRA) to invest in high-yield/low-risk real estate and effectively crowdfund some of my dividends and piggybank savings accounts into hotel/bar/restaurants across Austin, some of which we also own the dirt. Overnight, I morphed from Joe to Mitt. Regardless of deal type, what struck me most was the commonality and comfort of each deal lead to sponsor a syndicate. In the early 2010s this was still a grassroots effort, now aided by various Meetups and crowdfunding platforms. The wild card, though, which has yet to scratch the surface is the “green tsunami” of $10T (yes, trillion) that individuals will shift from stagnant, nameless mutual funds to sponsors/syndicates, with a strong percentage of these funds going towards real estate.

Storage, Baby!

storage-warehouse-1553550_1280 Raise your hand if you or somebody you know rents a storage unit. Raise your other hand if you would rather spend Memorial Day Weekend on your boat vs. changing storage providers if you monthly rate went up by a whopping $7. Now with both hands in the air (i.e. the universal “it’s good” on a PAT), you have a taste into the beauty of self-storage and natural attraction to invest in a storage facility with your friends and family. Pinnacle Storage Properties, founded by Uncle Bob’s veteran, John Manes, offers the simple blueprint on how to sponsor a deal. First, assuming you are liked – or of greater importance, respected – then you should have a natural following of 100+ interested individuals who will engage based on the high level of competency and character you exhibited throughout the years. Second, keep it simple. Unless a single person is willing to take all the equity off the table, then there should not be multiple share classes on your initial deals (or even on future deals or initial fund). Likewise, this eliminates the perception (and possible reality) of preferential treatment of your Grandma’s $50k on Day 1 vs. an ex co-worker funding the final $250k from her SDIRA. Finally, set parameters on commitments. Make it crystal clear that you need $X by Y date. That said, it is always best practice to communicate a “funds due date” a good 14-30 days before your true ‘D Day’, as is is very common for your next door neighbor’s check to get lost in the mail. Assume also that 10% of commitments will fall through, so either be oversubscribed or be prepared to front or possibly invest that final 10% of equity out of your own pocket.

Six Figures in Six Minutes

businessman-4279253_1280 Did you know you can get 6 figures in 6 minutes? Yes, it’s true! As referenced above, assuming you have a reasonable number of potential investors (e.g. 100 or more), then a simple email or mention in your deal packet should bring you a few checks from your investors’ “forgotten trillions”. In every deal I sponsor, and even when I do not have a live deal, I always educate any potential investor that s/he may use their retirement dollars to invest in my upcoming deal. Tommy Prate of Magnify Capital is a longtime evangelist of enhanced retirement accounts (Solo 401(k), SDIRA), empowering both his investors and ‘Magnifiers’ (those sourcing deals with boots on the ground diligence) with the knowledge that they may invest in his current/next deal with their retirement accounts. Manes/Pinnacle also regularly receives 15%-25% of equity raise from Self-Directed accounts. The added bonus, and ease, of “selling” the concept of retirement accounts is that these dollars are likely locked up (i.e. cannot withdraw without early distribution penalty) for the next 5-25 years, so the investor has no urgency of receiving (~demanding) his principal back. Secondly, with a checkbook controlled SDIRA, the investor can easily reinvest dividends or have a bit of fun investing smaller checks in other real estate and private deals, while maintaining all the benefits of a traditional retirement account. Play this to your advantage, and you will literally get 6 figures for 6 minutes of your time.

Playing the Mitt card to Financial Independence

When on the campaign trail in 2012, Mitt Romney was asked how his ROTH account could be in the Millions (actually $102,000,000!) when the maximum ROTH contribution was only $5,000? While Mitt took advantage of other types of enhanced retirement accounts (with 10x contribution limits), the takeaway here is that he invested via a post-tax account and will not have to pay taxes on this balance during his golden years. Stated differently, would you rather pay taxes today on a small seed or the full evergreen tree in the future? I opted for the former, now very confident that my seed will replicate many times over until I elect to take my first distributions in my 60s.

Dan Kryzanowski

Dan Kryzanowski

Executive Vice President

Rocket Dollar

[email protected]

512.779.0843

Dan serves as EVP at Rocket Dollar and Capital Partner for Pinnacle Storage Properties. Dan has raised “six figures in six minutes” numerous times across the self-storage, multi-family, and residential worlds. His profession mission is to guide individuals to take back control of their retirement dollars and empower sponsors raise more money faster. Visit with Dan at Family Office Connect on May 21st in New York City.

Justin French on Business Strategy, Leadership, and SDIRA Wealth

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Justin French is the kind of CEO who understands collaboration is the core of innovation. With a growing team that is now nationwide, French’s focus is on the strength of its people.

“I have always believed one of the best investments you can make, as a leader, is in the people you surround yourself with,” French said. “Great leaders never try to do everything on their own. They know a great company is built by everyone performing at their peak level. I spend most of my day working directly with my team and our affiliate partners so I can better equip them to be successful. In return, all of us at SDIRA Wealth are collectively raising the bar and achieving our goals.”

French uses his business-oriented insights to empower his team. He takes inspiration from one of the greats.

“Steve Jobs is a true innovator of our time,” French said. “He wanted to change the world. He did. He made an impact on everyone. He was successful not because he suddenly realized personal computers were his passion. That was not it at all. He knew computers could change the world. He wanted to be part of something bigger than himself.”

French said he admired Jobs’ dedication for making things simple to use, and this simplicity mindset is something French helps cultivate at SDIRA Wealth.

“What we do as a company is remove the barriers of having to deal with headaches of real estate, leaving our clients to enjoy all the benefits of it inside of their retirement accounts,” French said. “Making something simple requires harder work on the front side. You have to have the right talent and put enough time in to define the process. It’s worth it in the end because you have a product that is innovative and easy to use.”

His big-picture thinking combined with detailed actions has helped French make SDIRA Wealth a game-changer for retirement planning.

“The traditional way of retirement investing has been broken for a long time. Many people don’t know the 401(k) plan was never meant to be the main source of retirement funds that it is today, and sadly, pension plans have almost disappeared entirely. The problem is the money people are setting aside for retirement isn’t producing enough of a return for them to actually live on and maintain their standards of living in the future.”

To solve the problem, French said they had to answer three questions. What do people want? What do people need? Can we bring value? SDIRA Wealth’s solution answered all three.

“All great companies solve a problem and create value,” French said. “We don’t look at ourselves as a real estate investment company. We are an education company that provides a great product and solves America’s retirement epidemic. Real estate just happens to be part of that solution. We made the process simple and easy for everyone.”

French and his team are passionate about educating people about the benefits of real estate and Self-Directed IRAs.

“Our team is obsessed with educating others about all the benefits that Self-Directed IRAs bring with the power of real estate,” French said. “Most of the wealthy are already doing it. Look at Mitt Romney. He educated himself and took action for him and his family.”

Many people who invest in real estate are doing it the hard way, according to French.

“People expend a lot of their time finding properties, dealing with the headaches of being a landlord, trying to find ways to finance and leverage, and connecting all the players it takes to make a real estate transaction work,” French said. “That’s ok if you want to be an active investor. But what if you wanted the investment to be passive and to use your retirement dollars while still following all the rules and regulations?”

Complexity mixed with French’s drive for designing simplicity created perfect storm for a solution.

“Where there is complexity there is opportunity,” French said. “When companies focus on making things simple and easy for the end client, that’s when you start to innovate.  We made real estate as easy as a stock.”

French said part of making it easy has been about solving challenges.

“People want protection from market volatility, they want a higher rate of return, they don’t like hidden fees, and they want to have control of how their retirement plan is designed,” French said. “We have been able to solve all four. We do this with our solution by utilizing an asset that has been creating millionaires for decades. That’s residential real estate.”

From those four problems, SDIRA Wealth created the acronym PACT, which stands for People Achieving Change Together.

“PACT started out small but now has become a movement across the country with our affiliate partners,” French said. “It also represents the four main benefits our clients love about SDIRA Wealth’s investment solution, which are protection, acceleration, control, and transparency.”

After building and honing the solution, French started focusing on telling people about it by launching a nationwide affiliate campaign.

“We are blessed to work with some amazing affiliate partners who are wealth advisors, investment firms, and big-name influencers. They have same values and beliefs we do of disrupting status quo when it comes to retirement investing. They have been waiting for something like this.”

SDIRA Wealth helps affiliate partners best serve their clients in their market.

“By offering an additional product to accelerate their clients’ portfolios and reach their goals faster, our affiliate partners stand out in their market and attract more cliental,” French said. “Many say it’s the ace in their back pocket that has allowed them to satisfy their clients needs in ways they were not able to before. Their clients see they truly care to represent all the investment choices allowing their clients to win in the end.”

French said affiliate partners are passionate about solving America’s retirement challenges.

“Our affiliate partners understand the benefits of real estate,” French said. “They are excited about what we are doing and see the benefits of what our solution solves. Every week we interview new potential partners. Most of them come through our website or meet us at events.”

French’s success stems from his skills of finding and developing talent.

“The people you surround yourself will always determine your success,” French said. “One of my mentors always reminded me, ‘Show me your team and I’ll show you your success.’ This has always stuck with me and has always been true. With every successful team I have built over the past 20 years, the one thing I have always been very involved with is the interview process. It is vital we are always selecting natural market leaders and influencers who fit our culture and have the ability to make our company better.”

French has three tips for entrepreneurs who are striving for success.

One, “take time everyday to reflect and be thankful.”

“Always remember to have gratitude for the things you already do have,” French said. “Practicing thankfulness has changed my mindset and my life. It’s easy to think about what you don’t have as we are always working toward building our future. When you develop an attitude of gratitude you become thankful for everything that happens to you in life. Don’t be so focused on the finish line that you forget to enjoy the journey.”

Two, “stay true to your vision.”

“Find something you are good at,” French said. “Create something that will bring value to others. Focus on it. It’s easy to get sidetracked into creating new features, getting involved in wrong projects, listening to too many people’s ideas. In the end if you believe in what you do and your product can solve a problem, you are going to bring value to a lot people. If you can do that, success is just the byproduct of adding value and serving others.”

Three, “write down your goals to create accountability.”

“It’s proven people who have their goals written down attract more success,” French said. “As soon as you start working toward a goal you will encounter resistance and hurdles. By writing things down you will overcome these obstacles by focusing on your goal, making the challenges feel like small road bumps. Even more effective is sharing these written goals with someone who can help follow up with you. If you focus on your goals and take action the results will soon follow.”